Adhesive Capsulitis' Patients Report Improvement in Functionality Trough International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health Checklist and Dash After Suprascapular Nerve Blocks^*

Abstract

Objective

To evaluate the functionality in patients with adhesive capsulitis undergoing suprascapular nerve block (SSNB).

Methods

A before-and-after clinical prospective study in a single center was conducted with patients with secondary adhesive capsulitis treated with four nerve blocks based on anatomical limits. The sample was non-probabilistic, and it was obtained after a routine appointment at a specialized outpatient clinic. The instruments used for evaluation were the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) and the Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand (DASH) questionnaire, which were applied at baseline (T₀), one week after the fourth SSNB (T₄), and three months after the first SSNB (T₁₂). The paired t-test was used to compare the means of the ICF checklist items and DASH in the different: T₀xT₄;T₄xT₁₂;and T₀xT₁₂). The probability of rejecting the null hypothesis was 5%.

Results

The sample was composed of 25 individuals with a mean age of 58.16 years; 16 of them were female. The duration of the pain symptoms ranged from 2 to 16 months, with a mean of 5.92 months. The ICF checklist showed that all domains had already improved in T₄ except for the environmental factors, which only improved at 03 months (p = 0.037). The patients reported improvements in shoulder function in T₄, which increased more in T₁₂, at the end of data collection (p = 0.019).

Conclusion

The SSNB technique is effective in patients with adhesive capsulitis after4 weeks of application, with improvements in individual's functionality lasting for 12 weeks.

adhesive capsulitis; nerve block; International Classification of Functioning, disability and health; shoulder; patient reported outcome measures